The maze seemed like something different. A chance perhaps to enjoy simple pleasures. But Kylie said I was getting old. ‘OK grandpa, but let’s see what Loni and Vin are doing.’
Vin—he’d bring too much beer and junk food and a frisbee to throw. Vin’s problem was he couldn’t sit still.
We met them at the hedged archway entrance. Kylie and I went one way, Vin and Loni the other. Kylie’s approach was to race ahead, hit a dead-end, scream and race back to find a different route. I grew weary just watching her. When it took more than ten minutes to find the heart-shaped centre she swore loudly and vowed next time she’d bring a chain saw. I could hear Vin carrying on too. Pretty soon the two of them were conducting a shouted dialogue over the tops of the hedges.
It was half an hour before we all found the heart. Vin looked at Kylie and said let’s get out of here. They charged off and promptly got lost. I sat a while with Loni. After a few minutes, the silence and birdsong interrupted only by our partner’s screams, Loni leant close to me, whispered, ‘we’re with the wrong ones,’ and kissed me more tenderly than I’d been kissed for months.
small stories about love 